Sun Empire Elementary

Sun Empire Elementary operates as an average-sized primary school in Kerman, California, run under Kerman Unified. Current enrollment sits at 490 students spanning grades K through 6.

Across the 9 schools in Kerman Unified (5,272 students total), Sun Empire Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Sun Empire Elementary lists that 91% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Beyond that, the school lists 7% White. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 55%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Sun Empire Elementary has 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Sun Empire Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 87% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Fresno County runs at roughly 75%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Sun Empire Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 27.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 36.6%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Fresno County put median household income runs about $74,201, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 14%. Across Fresno County's 368 public schools (combined enrollment of about 206,072 students), Sun Empire Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Harvest Elementary, roughly 2.8 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Sun Empire Elementary comes 2nd of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 33.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 18%: 594 students in 2018 compared to 490 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 83% to 91% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 24.8:1 in 2018 to 21.3:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.